Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Spoilers: Nothing specific, set mid third season.
A/N: Each chapter is told from a different point of view. I owe enormous thanks to M and J who are two wonderful beta readers.
NOW THAT WE KNEW what we were looking for, I saw the scene with different eyes. First would had to find the places in which there were residues of TNT, then figure out exactly how they had transmitted. My guess what that they had been on the hands of the killers, but we needed proof of that. Also the presence of other trace substances could tell us how the explosive was stored and possible other substances the killers had handled. Brass was at the station conferring with the robbery/theft department about any recent "disappearances" of TNT. Of course they did not have to have stolen it themselves. Explosives are always on demand on the black market. We systematically taped the windows with paper, making sure it was dark in the apartment. Donning protective goggles, we started examining the room inch by inch using the portable UV detector set at 238 nm. Traces of TNT, indicated by fluorescence when exposed to this particular frequency of UV, were virtually everywhere. The inside door handle, the couch. We had worked our way half-way though the living room, in a slow and tedious process when my cell phone went off. It was Brass.
"I did some background digging on TNT. It is used for both military and industrial blasting operation. In the US it's only manufactured at military arsenals, but abroad there are also commercial manufacturers. It's virtually impossible to break into a military plant and there were no recorded thefts in state. They could have gotten from a civilian demolition operation though. While transport is strictly regulated, once the stuff is on site, it's usually kept in minimally secured vaults. They have been known to disappear on occasion. Or a blaster just saved some of it. Explosives bring good prices on the black market. The database gave two thefts from demolition sites in the last two years in Nevada. I'm looking into the files right now,"
"Okay, thank you," We were just about the resume our work when Greg called.
"Hi, Grissom. I'm done with the blood test, thought you would want to know as soon as I got the results," Greg's exuberance was about to annoy me. But I have to give him credit, he really got the results done fast. "The blood tests did show elevated concentrations indicating prolonged exposure, maybe also consuming food grown on contaminated soil. As a result of improper storage, TNT leaks into the soil, resulting in plants having abnormal concentrations of 2A-DNT and 4A-DNT. But, I've got something else," He paused.
"What else did you find?" The games were definitely annoying me.
"It's what I did not find. Normally TNT is mixed with either RDX or HMX. I found neither in the sample from the scene,"
"What does that tell us Greg? The evidence doesn't just have to be found, a CSI also has to know what it means," I'm afraid I came across harsher than necessary. For sure, it was harsher than I should have been.
"I don't know" Greg sounded abashed. "Maybe they just aren't pros"
Again we didn't get a chance to go ahead with processing the scene.
Less than a minute after Greg had hung up, my phone rang again. Slightly exasperated and mentally cursing permanent reach ability I answered again.
"Gil, it's me again," I recognized Brass's voice. His tone did not speak of good news.
"Just got a call from PD, Vega, Nick and Catherine were ambushed at the "Heavenly Path" estate. Shot,"
"How are they?" The response was pure instinct.
"Vega's dead. He was already dead when the paramedics got there. Nick and Catherine have been taken to the Desert Palms. It's serious but according to first prognosis not life-threatening,"
"Thank god. What about the attacker?"
"Daryl Marks, he was shot as well. He might not make it,"
I hung up, feeling, well not feeling at all. Dazed is probably the best way to put it. I didn't notice that Sara and Warrick were looking at me expectantly. They had only heard my side of the conversation and thus knew that something had happened. I'm not good in situations like that.
"There has been an ambush at the scene. Vega's been killed, Catherine and Nick were injured. They are at the hospital now," I made a pause, allowing them and myself to process the information. Then I went on, somebody had to keep ahead of the situation. And as the supervisor that's my job.
"Warrick can you go and meet Brass at the "Heavenly Path" estate. I'm asking Ecklie to loan us someone from day-shift as well. Sara, we'll finish up here and we'll join you there later on if needed,"
I was confident to have handled the situation as good as possible. Sara, however, disagreed with me.
"I don't get this. Hell, I don't get you Grissom. How can you just carry on like nothing happened? An officer has been killed, Catherine and Nick have been shot, and you don't even flinch," Sara's voice was getting slightly shrill.
"I'll keep you posted," Warrick quietly slipped out of the room, effectively removing himself from the situation and leaving me there alone to deal with Sara.
"Sara," I started out hoping to get my point across. "We have to focus on the case if we want to catch the rest of the cultists and prevent them from doing whatever it is they are planning. There might be more lives at stake in this. We cannot allow our personal feelings to interfere with the casework. Right now, there is nothing we can do for Nick or Catherine except figuring out the puzzle,"
"I get it," Sara said, her tone making it clear that she left plenty unsaid. I pushed the issue aside, and in a well trained mental movement closed the door to my emotion, allowing me to concentrate on the task at hand.
None of us talked on the ride to the hospital. Sara and Greg were clearly wrapped up in their own thoughts and worries and I didn't know anything adequate to say. I felt guilty. I still do. I had taken the case too lightly, had not seen the big picture of what was going on. I was still having trouble with it. It was clear that the cultist had planned something for today. Tina Rivers had gotten cold feet -that's why she was killed. Vega, Nick and Catherine had then interrupted Daryl Marks, who in turn had shot them down. Now Daryl Marks was in critical condition in the hospital. Hopefully his clothes could give us more clues about his whereabouts of the previous days and thus tell us where the cultists were planning something. After the shooting I felt that I had to do something, something to make it right again. I was going to do whatever it took to stop the cultists. Unfortunately my realization of my failure to picture the evidence in the grand scheme of things didn't help me to predict what was going to happen next. I don't know whether I am expecting too much of myself here, or whether a person was better empathy skills could have figured it out. Maybe I should have consulted an expert in cults. But, as they say, you always know better afterwards. I had not expected that the cultists, their leader in the hospital, would be totally at a loss, without guidance. I had not fully understood their belief in Daryl Marks as a god, a god for whom they were ready to die and a god for whom they were going to kill.
tbc